Here We Go

I'm a closet worrier. Even though I give off this self-confident, self-assured, totally got it under control vibe, in my head, I'm constantly analyzing, worrying, and wondering what I did wrong, what I can do differently, and what I'm doing well. My boyfriend is a great ear when it comes to this side of me, and he's constantly reassuring me that I don't need to worry or stress so much. It's nice.

On Thursday we had practice and I had to run the girls for the first time. They were full of giggles and silliness and we had a lot to cover in a short time. I try really hard to have fun in practice, but there comes a point when I have to put my foot down and make them realize that they are here to play soccer, not gossip.

But sometimes I question if I am pushing too hard. My team manager assures me I am not and that she'll tell me if I get to that point, but the last thing I want to do is make them sour about soccer.

I just really want to push the point home that they are good players, but they could be great players if they apply themselves a little more. I'm looking for more quality, which I hope will come with time.

Friday saw me doing keeper training for Stu again, and this session was quite rewarding for me because I felt like I really fixed something this time around. The keeper I worked with is Stu's number one keeper right now, and she has a bit of a nonchalance to her that drives me crazy! However, she's also quite capable, and if she could ever get out of this self-doubt stage and build herself up instead of tearing herself down (she is 12.. hormones and all ) she has the potential to be something special.

Our topic of the day was breakaways, something I'm pretty confident in teaching. I started at the basic level, with tunnel drill, then moved on to line o' balls, and then shadow play.

Tunnel Drill -- Keeper is in a bridge, trainer rolls ball under keeper, keeper sprints to ball and makes breakaway save.

Line o' Balls -- line up at least four balls in a row, 1-2 yards apart (can increase with keeper ability). Keeper smothers first ball, quickly up to the next, and so on. Trainer strikes ball as keeper makes save.

Shadow Play -- Keeper has to shadow a dribbling player and make a decision when to take the ball off the foot.

Once we moved to the big field, it was like she got it. Everything I taught her clicked and she was making some ridiculous saves. Such a great feeling.

The other thing I fixed was her goal kicks. She was standing at such a horrid angle to them that she couldn't get her foot under the ball. All I did was change the angle of her run up and suddenly her goal kicks were spot on.

Today, my girls had their first WAGS game. We lost 3-0, but there were some really great moments. I was thrilled with the effort they put in, and I think they learned quite a bit today, and should really take it to them tomorrow.

My defense is totally solid, but I'm missing strength in the center. The two girls who I hoped would step into that role just aren't doing what I need them to. I'm going to make some changes tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

On a good note, the girl I picked up specifically as a goalkeeper played a  bang-up game today. She has great instincts and is going to be special. The girls improve with every game, which is exciting for me, so now we just need to put the freaking ball in the net!

Wish us luck tomorrow, I think I might relax once I get my first win under my belt.